PhotoPilot
New Member
It's amazing how busy the life of a CFI can be. Since I started working about a month ago, I haven't had time to make any posts!!!
My JC connections have been on the back burner but are not forgotten . . .
The purpose of this post is to encourage those of you who are where I was one year ago. At the beginning of last summer, I was lurking on JetCareers, trying to commit to shifting to a career in aviation, trying to decide on a school, and wondering just how crazy you had to be to become a pilot. I finally started training in the middle of September with zero hours logged. Now, I'm a full-time flight instructor with ratings through CFI, CFI-I, and MEI. The best part for those of you out there who are thinking of doing the same thing is that I'm a pretty average guy. If I can do it, most people can do it.
I was thinking about what advice I would give the me from last summer if I could send an e-mail his (my?) way. After thinking about it, the best advice was fairly simple. I figured I'd share it with all of you as well:
1. If you're going to do it, wait until you can truly make the commitment. The flying can be challenging, but it's really the easy part. The knowledge, however, requires a phenomenal amount of studying. Not only is it worth about 2 years of graduate school in volume and complexity, but (in my case, at least) it was crunched into about 8 months. It's also not like most of the high school and college information I gleaned - when the semester is over, I don't get to forget all of it. This is stuff you will need to put into long-term memory, ready for use on any and every flight. Without full dedication, you'll be wasting your time.
2. There are no perfect schools, academies, programs, or FBOs. Take the time to find the approach that's right for you. Part-time or full-time, FBO or academy - there are ways to make almost anything work. Don't take the marketing departments and advertisements too seriously. Pay attention to your gut (Sounds too good to be true? Maybe it is . . . ) and your heart (If it feels really, really right, it might be just that!).
3. I figured that, just like in my photography business, the flying part would be great fun, but making a living would be work. I love showing up and flying and don't regret being in the plane at any point. However, when you fly eight hours per day, some of the romance and adventure wears away. When I get home, I'm tired and sometimes I have personal extracurriculars that are hampered by my schedule. I fly every day but don't have much time for biking, fishing, camping, skiing, reading, etc. Even the most wonderful things can become a 'job.'
4. Be ready to make sacrifices. I'll be living on a college student budget, working 40+ hours per week, and making the wages of an Applebee's waiter for at least the next few years. When you decide to follow a dream and do something because you love it, you have to give up something else. In this case, it means not having the best job security or salary out of the starting gates. I'd venture to say that if I didn't have a supportive wife, I'd be wondering how to survive on my current pay . . .
5. From what I've seen and experienced, it is easy to start with a bang and end with a fizzle. Every license, rating, and endorsement has it's own quirks and challenges. If you don't take a short break now and then, it's easy to burn out in a full-time program. Even if it's just a long weekend, make sure you cater to your non-flying needs occassionally.
With that, I'll bite my tongue. There are so many more experienced folks on the boards that I'm sure most of this has been covered in the past. Even so, I figured some of the new folks wouldn't mind hearing from a recent convert.
Best,
PhotoPilot
The purpose of this post is to encourage those of you who are where I was one year ago. At the beginning of last summer, I was lurking on JetCareers, trying to commit to shifting to a career in aviation, trying to decide on a school, and wondering just how crazy you had to be to become a pilot. I finally started training in the middle of September with zero hours logged. Now, I'm a full-time flight instructor with ratings through CFI, CFI-I, and MEI. The best part for those of you out there who are thinking of doing the same thing is that I'm a pretty average guy. If I can do it, most people can do it.
I was thinking about what advice I would give the me from last summer if I could send an e-mail his (my?) way. After thinking about it, the best advice was fairly simple. I figured I'd share it with all of you as well:
1. If you're going to do it, wait until you can truly make the commitment. The flying can be challenging, but it's really the easy part. The knowledge, however, requires a phenomenal amount of studying. Not only is it worth about 2 years of graduate school in volume and complexity, but (in my case, at least) it was crunched into about 8 months. It's also not like most of the high school and college information I gleaned - when the semester is over, I don't get to forget all of it. This is stuff you will need to put into long-term memory, ready for use on any and every flight. Without full dedication, you'll be wasting your time.
2. There are no perfect schools, academies, programs, or FBOs. Take the time to find the approach that's right for you. Part-time or full-time, FBO or academy - there are ways to make almost anything work. Don't take the marketing departments and advertisements too seriously. Pay attention to your gut (Sounds too good to be true? Maybe it is . . . ) and your heart (If it feels really, really right, it might be just that!).
3. I figured that, just like in my photography business, the flying part would be great fun, but making a living would be work. I love showing up and flying and don't regret being in the plane at any point. However, when you fly eight hours per day, some of the romance and adventure wears away. When I get home, I'm tired and sometimes I have personal extracurriculars that are hampered by my schedule. I fly every day but don't have much time for biking, fishing, camping, skiing, reading, etc. Even the most wonderful things can become a 'job.'
4. Be ready to make sacrifices. I'll be living on a college student budget, working 40+ hours per week, and making the wages of an Applebee's waiter for at least the next few years. When you decide to follow a dream and do something because you love it, you have to give up something else. In this case, it means not having the best job security or salary out of the starting gates. I'd venture to say that if I didn't have a supportive wife, I'd be wondering how to survive on my current pay . . .
5. From what I've seen and experienced, it is easy to start with a bang and end with a fizzle. Every license, rating, and endorsement has it's own quirks and challenges. If you don't take a short break now and then, it's easy to burn out in a full-time program. Even if it's just a long weekend, make sure you cater to your non-flying needs occassionally.
With that, I'll bite my tongue. There are so many more experienced folks on the boards that I'm sure most of this has been covered in the past. Even so, I figured some of the new folks wouldn't mind hearing from a recent convert.
Best,
PhotoPilot
